High temperature stability of platinum silicide, formed by reacting metal with silicon or by cosputtering metal and silicon in a desired ratio, has been studied. The properties of films, thus formed, were examined as a function of annealing temperature using a resistance measuring technique, Rutherford backscattering, Auger and x-ray analyses, transmission and scanning electron microscopic techniques, and by measuring forward current-voltge (I-V) characteristics of the silicide n-silicon Schottky diodes. It is shown that cosputtering silicon rich alloys prevents agglomeration of the silicide, but increases the resistivity and decreases the Schottky barrier height of the film. Platinum silicide dissolves increasing amounts of silicon on high temperature (700–1000 °C) treatments causing considerable degradation of properties. Although cosputtering silicon rich alloys reduces this behavior, electrical properties such as forward I-V characteristics still degrade due to high temperature anneals.

We have found that nitrogen incorporation in the gate-oxide, by implantation into the Si, degrades the low field inversion mobility. Although submicron transistors fabricated using nitrogen implantation have been reported to show higher drive currents compared with "pure" oxides, we have measured about 20% degradation in large area transistors for a 2e14 cm 2 nitrogen implant. These measurements were done using nMOS transistors with thin gate-oxides ( 4 nm). Thickness determination was done by simulation fit to capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements by including quantization and tunneling effects. We furthermore, observed that the decrease in the mobility has an increased sensitivity to the channel doping concentration.

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Introduction Belimumab is a recombinant human monoclonal antibody that binds to soluble B-lymphocyte stimulator and inhibits its biological activity. Since receiving approvals for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), several observational studies have investigated the effectiveness of belimumab in the real-world setting. This study reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of belimumab for the treatment of SLE. Methods A literature search following PRISMA Guidelines and limited to studies in English was performed (2014−2020) to identify relevant studies reporting effectiveness outcomes of belimumab in patients with SLE. A modified version of the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to assess study quality. Outcomes, including SLE Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) score, prednisone-equivalent use, and SLE flare were pooled and analyzed using statistical aggregation methods. Results The literature search identified 514 articles for initial review. Of these, 17 articles were suitable for data extraction and summary. Baseline characteristics of patients in real-world studies were generally similar to those of relevant clinical trials, including age, sex, disease duration, SLEDAI score, and prednisone-equivalent use. Real-world use of belimumab was associated with reductions in SLEDAI score (mean baseline score to month 6: 10.1–4.4; 57% reduction), prednisone-equivalent dosing (mean baseline dose to month 6: 12.1 mg/day to 6.9 mg/day; 43% reduction), and flare frequency (12 months prior to belimumab to 12 months after belimumab: 1.15–0.39 mean flares per patient per year; 66% reduction). Long-term data (up to 2 years post-treatment initiation) for SLEDAI score and prednisone-equivalent dose indicated that improvements in both outcomes continue over time among patients remaining on therapy. Conclusions In the real-world setting, observed outcomes with belimumab for the treatment of SLE are consistent with those reported from randomized clinical trials. Improvements persist long-term for SLEDAI activity and prednisone-equivalent use with belimumab. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40744-022-00454-9.

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